Thunderous 144mph aces: Mpetshi Perricard leads ‘serve-bot’ revival
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French 21-year-old is one of many big servers making their mark and testing the speed clock early in 2025. As Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard stepped to the baseline for the start of his contest against Frances Tiafoe in the sleepy suburbs of Brisbane on Thursday afternoon, his very first shot of the match drew dramatic, startled gasps from the full Pat Rafter Arena crowd. Although Mpetshi Perricard usually does not pay attention to serve speeds in the blazing heat of battle, the loud commotion after his thunderous ace led him to steal a glance at the speed clock. The screen read: 232kph (144mph).
![[Tumaini Carayol]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/03/01/Tumaini_Carayol_v2.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
By the end of the opening game, the Frenchman had served four aces off his first five serves, finishing with a cool 227kph (141mph) second serve ace. He would finish an excellent straight-sets win over Tiafoe with 20 aces. For his captivated audience, it was the perfect introduction to what has quickly become the most destructive weapon in professional tennis.
![[Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard plays a shot]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d2112c858e81dcab5a0a2f4ef61be24e16dd20ce/0_111_4290_2574/master/4290.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
A year ago, only those monitoring the ATP Challenger tour were fully aware of Mpetshi Perricard’s potential. The hype was minimal. Having started 2024 ranked outside the top 100, however, the 21-year-old has flitted up the rankings with ease, breaking through as a wildcard to win his first ATP title in his home town, Lyon, blazing into the fourth round of Wimbledon as a lucky loser and then ending the year with his first ATP 500 title in Basel. His continued emergence has been one of the most significant developments in the first week of the new year. It is clear that absolutely nobody in the world wants to see him in their draw.
